Case for books, &amp;c.



No. 645,279. Patented Mar. [3, I900.

C. A. TUCKER.

CASE'FOR BOOKS, &G.-

A plication filed Sept. 27, 1899.)

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8 1| m Q I H I fi iw- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. TUCKER, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

CASE FOR BOOKS, 800.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,279, dated March 13, 1900. Application filed September 27,1899. Serial No. 731,809. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES A. TUCKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cases for Books and other Articles, of which the following is a specificatiou.

My invention relates to an improvement on the case for books and other articles patented by me March 2, 1897, No. 577,890; and the particular purpose of my present improvement is to provide suitable means for pressing the books back on the shelves if they are carelessly placed thereon so that they pro ject in front of the shelves.

In my device as formerly constructed if the books were placed on the shelves so that they projected forward to any material extent they were liable to strike against the casing as the shelf revolved and to become injured and impede the operation of the machine. In order to overcome these defects, I place in front of the shelves, and preferably parallel therewith, a roller having longitudinal ribs or flanges, so that as the roller revolves the ribs will press against the projecting backs of the books whenever the same extend beyond the edge of the shelf, and thus force them back into place. Means are provided for rotating this roller when the shelves are moved either up or down, and as an additional precaution I provide a ledge in front of the shelves and preferably at or near the top of the case, the said ledge inclining outward and downward for the purposeof pushing in the books as they rise'.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 representsa general section through my bookcase, showing the improved adjusting attachments in place. Fig. 2 is a partial front view of the same. Fig. 3 is a view showing a modification.

A represents the casing, D D the revolving shelves, and E the sprocket-chaimof mybookcase, B B being the sprocket-wheels over which the chain runs. These parts are all constructed according to my prior patent referred to and need no particular description here.

In front of the shelves,and preferably at or near the bottom of the case,I journal a roller G on the shaft g. This roller is provided with ribs or flanges H, (here shown as four in number,) and it is journaled adjacent to and parallel with the shelves. It is so located that as it turns the edges of the ribs or flanges will tend to press back any book which projects beyond the front edge of the shelf. Means are provided for intermittently turning the roller as each shelf comes along, whether the same is moving up or down.

As herein shown, I secure to each shelf a projecting arm or tappet f, which is adapted to strike against one of the ribs of the roller and so give the roller a partial turn. As an additional safeguard I place a roller L mounted on the shaft I. This roller is so placed that as the shelf rises any book which projects out too far will be pushed back into place, as will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 3 is shown a modification in which the roller L is replaced by an inclined piece M. By this construction any book which istoo far forward in the shelf will strike its upper corner against the inclined piece and so be forced back to the proper place, or if the top of the book is inclined inward this ledge will draw down the back and press the book into its proper place.

Care is to be taken to have just friction enough between the roller G and its shaft so that it will stop when the arm f has passed by.

It will be evident that the roller G may be replaced by a roller similar to that shown at the top of the case and perform the 'same function, or the roller at the top of the case may be replaced by a roller like G, it only being necessary to have proper gearing to cause the same to rotate.

It will be seen that these attachments keep the books always back in place and prevent the damaging of any book and anyinjury to the machine by reason of the books getting in the way of the running-gear. This becomes particularly essential when power is used for rotating the shelves, as it is inmost cases.

It is evident'that the roller G may be of any desired form so long as it has projecting ribs, or it maybe in the form ofan eccentric.

Other means than those here shown may be used for pushing back the books, as will be evident from what is illustrated.

\Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a series of h0rizon tally-disposed bookshelves connected together to form an endless carrier, sprocketwheels on which the same are mounted, a roller journaled in front of said shelves, and means for rotating said roller to press back projecting books, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a series of horizontally disposed book shelves connected together to form an endless carrier, sprocket- Wheels on Which the same are mounted, a roller journaled in front of said shelves having longitudinal ribs or flanges, and means for rotating said roller to press back projecting books, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a series of horizontallydisposed book-shelves connected together to form an endless carrier, sprocket- Wheels on which the same are mounted, a roller journaled in front of said shelves having longitudinal ribs orprojections and arms on said shelves adapted to strike against projections on said rollers to turn the same, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a series of horizontallydisposed book shelves connected together to form an endless carrier, sprocket- Wheels on which the same are mounted, and a roller in front of said shelves to press back the books as the shelves rise, substantially as described.

5. In a book-case, the combination of a series of shelves supported by an endless carrielgmeans for moving said carrier, and means for automatically moving into proper position any books which project too far in front of the shelves, substantially as described.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 26th day of September, A. D. 1899.

CHARLES A. TUCKER.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS B. KAIN, HERBERT J. LILLIE. 

